Email: May 21st

Dear family and friends,

I am starting my LAST week here in Bulgaria. Its a weird feeling and its finally starting to hit me that Im leaving my life here behind. I felt that at this point in time I would be ready and excited to come home but since I gave my dying testimony this past week during a mission conference - reality set in. My stomach has been getting anxiety knots in it due to thinking about how I have to return home. Im very uncertain about how my life will go, how all of you, family AND friends, will be and how much you have all changed and how I will be in the dark about a lot of stuff going on around me. Im very sad to leave behind all the choiced people here in Bulgaria that Ive met. Ive made some really good friends and I love them very much. Ive gotten so used to being a missionary that Im not sure how to be me me again lol. Im ME but... Ive had a schedule to keep my life in line. I welcome home but Im also scared and I feel like a part of me is dying here in Bulgaria. My mission has been the hardest thing in my life that Ive done and its very bittersweet, intimate and sacred. Im so glad I had this opportunity to be here to serve, learn, grow, become humble and learn how the gospel can really work in our lives when we choose it.

This past week didnt even happen! Sister Bingham and I were having lots of lessons, traveling to and from Varna for LTM (Large Training Meeting) and having a huge branch party! Sister Bingham and I didnt get much contacting in but when we DID go contacting it wasnt very successful. It kind of got me annoyed. It bothers me when Ive contacted for an hour on the street and no one wants to talk to me. It becomes tedious. One day we were walking and nothing became of it, no numbers, no conversations and no people interested. I decided it was time to head back and get some lunch. As we were walking back, I was in deep conversation with Sister Bingham and didnt notice that someone was riding their bike behind me ringing their little bell (Ringing Bell = Move out of the way). I didnt hear it and continued to talk and RIGHT as I FINALLY heard it, the guy on the bike was right behind me and had to slow down and swurve out of my way. He looks at me and says in bulgarian, "Did you NOT hear my bell???" I look at him confused and say, Im sorry! Im sorry! I was busy talking and didnt notice. He looks at me again and repeats, "Didnt you hear it??? Why didnt you move to the right side of the street?!" Im still looking at him confused, thinking that my sorry would be good enough for him. I told him sorry again, that I didnt notice. He then switches to perfect english, gets off his bike, parks it and asks, "Do you know the story of Jonah in the bible?" Lol. Im like... ya? Hes swallowed up by a whale. He then goes on to tell me the whole story of Jonah and how the people of Ninevah couldnt tell their right from their left. Hinting that... I couldnt tell from my right or left lol. Anyway, I decided to take the reigns of the convo and talk about our purpose and message as missionaries. We talked on the side of the street for an hour and a half! I went over some of the 3rd lesson, the book of mormon and any other questions he had about us. He told me that he had met the elders but they were very boring and he didnt like talking to them. He liked how animated and enthusiastic I was. I liked hearing that haha. He agreed to meet with us again and talk. I walked away feeling blown away! Ive never just had God GIVE me someone like that. It was suuuch a blessing. We met him again during the week at the church. We talked for 2 hours about a lot of stuff. How the Holy ghost works, how we can heed the promptings we have, the book of mormon, the sabbath day and when it is, the Godhead and any other questions he had. He wouldnt accept our Book of Mormon but he agreed to meeting again to talk about HOW and WHY we have the Book of Mormon. Hes SUUUCH an awesome person. His name is Stanislav. He is 48, married and has no kids. He has a really cool story about how at age 33 he heard a voice tell him, "Ive heard you my son, now hear to you". Ever since then hes been getting his hands on everything and anything about religion. He doesnt go to any certain church and he knows that icons, candles and anything of the sort that the pravaslav church has, are IDOLS. I LOVE it. He also understands that its all false traditions and its not REAL faith. Ahhh! I love him. Hes so fun. After the lesson, I felt so mentally wiped that all during dinner hour I just slept hahaha. He really wore me out mentally.

We had LTM this week. 4 of us missionaries gave our dying testimonies. It went really well. Its been 15 months since I last bore my testimony in english infront of a group of people and I was VERY nervous hahaha. The last time I got up infront of people and bore my testimony was my 2nd day in country during the orientation meeting. I was very nervous hahaha, its not like me but ya.. haha. Sister Roth gave a presentation all about how to plan and set goals. I felt like I needed this very much since Ill be home soon and I will need to plan my life and set some goals for myself so I dont get totally lost.

We had a branch party this week on saturday. It was a GREAT turn out. Sister Bingham and I were in charge of decorations. It was a pirate theme and it turned out MIGHTY finnnneee. I was pretty proud of ourselves for how well we decorated the place. I got some pictures so I'll have to show you later. We had lots of people there. We had a BBQ, scavenger hunt and games. A english student of mine, George, came up to me and said, "Ive never seen so many people laughing at one time in my life." Two of my other english students, Tawnya and Efgeni were hanging around me, talking. Tawnya is very upset that Im leaving but very excited to skype with me and facebook me haha. Efgeni kept trying to be in every conversation I was. I think hes taken a liking for me,... not in a creepy way though. I love that guy. Hes 43 or so, divorced and doesnt have any beliefs in God because hes for communism but I asked him if he would meet with us this week to talk and he said yes! Yay! Im excited to meet with him.

This week on saturday I head over to Sofia with all the missionaries that are going home. From saturday-tuesday we will be chilling together having our goodbye dinner and interviews. CRAZY. I only have 5 more working days. Holy jaaank. I will email again on monday and then you will all see me next week chillin in the 'VILLE!

I love you!

-Sister Kinkead

Email: May 14th

Hey hey hey,

No one emailed me really but that was to be expected. I just skyped with you all this past saturday so.. no worries. I have a few things I do want to write about though.

This past week Sister Bingham and I went out contacting in the park near our apartment. To be honest - I wasnt looking forward to it because lately people have been completely rude to us. I went out there with a bad attitude but the Lord gave me tender mercies because every person I approached let me to talk to them and they were all REALLY NICE. I even got 3 people who gave me their information so we can talk again. I was blown out of the water hahaha. We ended our contacting session talking to a man named Peter who is 85. I saw him on a bench and decided, what the heck? Ill just approach him even if he just talks my ear off. He invited us to sit down with him and we began to talk about the gospel and such. Hes not a believer, sadly, BUT he was SOOOO fun to talk to. He asked me about my love life LOL. He told me that I was searching for a man lol.... He was realllly cool and very nice. At the end he told me, "If only I were 20 again..." Lol. Im hoping we bump into him again. He wasnt creepy at all.. he was just being silly and it was so refreshing to talk to someone and have a fun conversation and not get bashed haha. After that contacting session, I was really pumped up.

So I forgot to tell you mom and dad but I need someone to schedule me to get my teeth worked on and my eyes checked so I can get new prescriptions in glasses and contacts. Just saying. I need it BADLY. I forgot to mention that on skype. Sorry.

Anyway, thats about it for now. I'll write more next week. Love you all!

-Sister Kinkead

Email: May 7th

Dear Family,

Things over here are just SOARING. Time just doesnt seem to stop and Im loving it! Things were a biiiit slower in Blago but here in Ruse there is so much work and no time for it. It is definitely a great way to end my mission. This past week we didnt have too much time to work because for half of the week we went up and spent in Sofia for Sisters Conference. It was sooooooo fun. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I, of course, was the one who was running around, laughing and talking up a storm. Im quite the fiesty one out of the sisters here hahaha. Im going to miss em all.

We met with Sabina this past week. Im not going to lie, she really intimidated me at first when we started meeting with her but she has really warmed up to me and Sister Bingham. Sabina and I talked for a good 30 minutes before we even started the lesson. I was literally cracking up laughing. She was going on about finding me a husband after the mission. That topic seems to be the "hott" topic right now. Ah geeze. It was funny though. I have really made a connection with her and I love that! Its definitely hard making a connection in bulgarian but Ive done it!

We also met up with Stefi. Shes doing well. Her and I have just clicked! She doesnt speak english so therefore our conversations in lessons and out of lessons are all in bulgarian. Somehow, Im just rambling away in bulgarian to her. Its so crazy. I remember the days where I felt like I would never be able to express myself and here I am just babbling away about whatever in bulgarian. Sometimes after our lessons, I'll begin speaking in bulgarian to Bingham and then I catch myself and say, "Oh... Stefi is gone.. we can switch back to english" Lol.

Im not saying Im perfect at the language, HAHA. I am faaaaar from that but.. at least Im at a point where I feel comfortable and I dont freak out when a bulgarian speaks to me.

I taught gospel principles yesterday and Im going to be giving a talk on sunday about repentance. Should be good. Sister Bingham will be teaching gospel principles this week as a greenie. I think it will be good for her. She is so shy and its really hindering her from learning. She wouldnt approach people on the street for the first week. Sooo.. I made a rule that she has to talk to someone before I can talk to someone. It really pushes her and its good for her. Im kind of a strict mom but she is someone who needs to be slightly pushed. We were ordering at a restaurant the other day and she attempted to order in english. I stopped her and told her she had to order in bulgarian. The waitor looked at me and said, "I know english.." Im like, "I know but she needs to practice..." lol. It sounds harsh but I remember that my trainer made me order all by myself and figure things out on my own a lot of the time. I learned quickly how to do approaches and how to order by the first week. Its good to be stretched. Ive been stretched my whole entire mission lol.

So.. skype - I will be skyping home on Saturday the 12th. I will be on skype 7 pm MY TIME and 12 PM OHIO TIME. Ok? So all of you need to be on skype at 12 pm your time. Its so weird... it feels like I just skyped with you all. Haha.

Diana, a lady I baptized in Varna, was here in Ruse this past weekend. She took Sister Bingham and I out for chinese and it was SO fun to see her! Shes like my bulgarian mom. I helped her get conference set up on her laptop so she could watch it in bulgarian. She handed me some MILKA chocolate (german chocolate thats my FAVORITE) because she knows how much I love chocolate lol. Shes such an awesome member. It was a good little visit.

Im doing pretty good myself. If anyone is wondering how Im doing. It isnt real to me that I will be on an airplane in 3 weeks. It feels like life will just continue on here in Bulgaria. I think I will have a hard time adjusting back to real life... I will probably be a little weird lol. Ah well.

We continue to stay busy! I love you all.

See you all in.. 3 weeks! Ahh!

-Sister Kinkead

Email: April 30th

Dear Family and Friends, Im settling into my new home - Ruse. This week was really busy. It kept me on my toes at all times and it feels like I JUST wrote an email to you guys. Wow. I mean, Im not complaining, I like when the time goes by fast but man.. its stressful all at the same time. Sister Bingham and I are starting to warm up to each other. We were laughing and giggling about her boyfriend while we were having our SECOND companionship study (We have 2 during training. one in the morning and one at night) It was fun to just let loose and have us both feel comfortable to just joke. Sister Bingham is such a quiet, reserved girl that I think she is starting to come out of her shell with me. Its fun to see. This past week we had many lessons, some contacting time in and a lot of time for my arms and shoulders to get sunburnt! Yay! Ruse is HEATING up. Almost 35 C here which is getting hot. I prepare all the lessons of course and give all the lessons. Sister Bingham sits there and at the end testifies. Im flying completely solo but Im getting used to it. Not only do I teach all our lessons, contact people on the street by myself, I now have to teach gospel principles next week and give a talk sometime in church. Im pretty sure Ill be doing Relief Society somewhere in there. *Takes a deep breath* I got this. Im being stretched. Im glad but... by the end of these 4 weeks? I will be ready to be done with responsibility and just worry about myself lol. I feel its all up to me to get our numbers, our lessons, our receives, etc etc. We had a lesson this past week with this man named Chris in the park. He speaks good english and talked for 1 1/2 about conspiracy theories and how mormons were wrong. He pulled scriptures from the bible telling me that we were wrong and that we were the false idols and the sheep in wolves clothing that had been prophesied of. He then went on about how we communicate with the dead and how that is evil. He brought up baptisms for the dead and went off on that. I sat there - patient and nice. However, when he started to get really riled up, I looked at him and said, "Chris. You. Dont. Know. So STOP." He was taken aback and at the moment I said, "You think were wrong but guess what? Every church thinks theyre right... and so do you but I respect your beliefs so respect mine." He then talked about how he was worried about my salvation. I told him I was worried about his and then got up from the bench we were sitting at in the park. He told me to be safe and I told him to be safe too. Lol. I know we are supposed to be humble servants but.. I will not allow someone to completely bash me and get away with it. No. I will stand up for what I believe because I know its TRUTH. He wants to meet again and show us a documentary. I told him, "Chris, we will not be meeting again. I will use my time trying to find someone who DOES want to listen to my message and not waste my time with you." Lol. Ouch. Ya.. I was on one. We've been working with 2 women. Sabina and Stefi. They are new converts and its been fun to teach both of them. Sabina is in her 40s and has lived a hard life of drugs and partying. She has really cleaned up and its so amazing to see how much she loves the gospel. Stefi is 15 and LOVES the gospel. We try to see her often because all of her friends at school have ditched her and its been really hard for her. But shes a strong girl! We love her :) There is a member here named Eyri. Ugh. Hes bad news. Hes 23 and speaks perfect english. He looks just like AND acts just like, Bryce. Ya... I havent brought that name up in... a long time but ya. Its really hard being around this member. I get so uncomfortable. More details to come... maybe when Im home. Im in Sofia right now for a sisters conference. We are having 3 days of having fun and doing little workshops with President and Sister Roth. Im loving my life being around all my best buds such as, Sister Tate, Sister Meyers and Sister Child. GAH! I have MISSED them. The missionaries really do become your family. They have been the ones Ive really grown close with. I just want to bear testimony that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Without the gospel in our lives - we cannot have true, long-lasting happiness. The Lord lives and so does his son, Jesus Christ. They know us, they know our names, they our problems, worries, concerns and they are waiting to help us as we seek them out. I know that the Book of Mormon is TRUTH! I testify that it IS another testament of Jesus Christ and the only way we can know if it is true is if we actually read, ponder and pray. God is a god of Order, he doesnt want us to be confused. He wants us to be happy. Im grateful for the many blessings I receive each day from him and the love I feel from him. The gospel is TRUE. Have a good week all. I love you. Remember you are in charge of your actions, happiness and life. -Sister Kinkead

Email: April 23rd

Dear Family and friends, Things are soooo stressful for me right now. I dont think you all understand how many stomach aches Ive had in the past few days due to anxiety. I picked up my greenie last week in Sofia. Her name is Sister Bingham, 21 and she is from a small town near Vernal, Utah. She doesnt know any bulgarian except for little words like, yes, no, and Taka (meaning, ya, thats how it is in english). We are working with 11, ELEVEN, people here in Ruse. Thats a lot! We also have a list of 20 people who we just need to follow up that past missionaries have talked to. Am I freaking out? Just a tad lol. It took me 2 1/2 hrs to sort through all the people, their needs and to set up appts with them. Im nervous to meet with these people. I know it will be good but Sister Bingham cant even testify... so Ill do the whole entire lessons myself. I need to work with her and her testifying and then working on a principal a day with her in bulgarian but theres no TIME. We already have to do her training notebook and we have a set Language study about what were supposed to study. AND WE HAVE THE LESSONS TO ATTEND TO. Lol. Talk about NO TIME for even sitting and thinking for 2 minutes. It'll be ok... we'll trudge through it somehow but... its scary when you realize youre the one doing all the work. Literally. Shes just enjoyin the ride. Im patient though, No worries. When we got into Ruse and into our apt.. I got really homesick. I wasnt homesick for america but homesick for Blagoevgrad. I sat on the couch thinking about how much I missed my home and normalcy in Blagoevgrad and that this new apt wasnt my HOME. My HOME was in Blago. Ya... Ive gotten over that but its so funny how I get homesick for past areas and not even my actual home which is actually in America. The members here, however, are really cool. I can tell church will be good,.. even if Im teaching gospel principles and relief society on my own :) High maintenance branches, gotta love em! We will be working with a new member here named Stephi. Shes 15 and a ball of energy. Theres a man who comes to church even though hes not a member. Hes mentally handicapped. The story about him is that his mother didnt want him and tried every drug in the book to kill him when she was pregnant with him. Apparently her drugs werent strong enough because he survived. Hes in his late 30s and the sweetest spirit. He came up and hugged me with a huge smile on his face. I looooove him. Hes my favorite. He is sooooo sweet. I make sure to always give him extra attention and make sure I always smile when Im looking his way. So here it is people! I will be giving my HOMECOMING TALK on June 10th at the Zanesville ward building. So call off and come! I will be giving 2 talks that morning and I will have some kind of reception afterwards around 2, 2:30. More details to come later. I will be SKYPING on May 12th. Details of the time will come later. Im not sure yet. So ya... set aside to skype on MAY 12TH. Hmm anyway, thats about it. Theres a ton more but thats all that really matters right now. Have a good week! -Sister Kinkead P.S. - I can walk across a bridge here and be in ROMANIA. I can see it across the river. ITS SO NUTS